Guest columnist
Welcome to a new school year. Although we are faced with budget challenges, Durham Public Schools is excited about the privilege we have to provide the best quality of instruction to the students of the Durham community.
This year marks the opening of another unique and highly promising school. The Holton Career and Resource Center offers untold opportunities for many of our high school students and other citizens. The uniqueness of this school is its shared purpose. The City of Durham Parks and Recreation and Duke Health System join us in offering daily experiences on this campus. Hundreds of dignitaries and community supporters came out for the ribbon-cutting a few weeks ago and were nothing short of thrilled with this impressive facility.
This past week Durham Public Schools released our first annual State of the System Performance Report. Included in this report is an overview of the system's progress, referred to as the "Data Dashboard." According to the dashboard, DPS met seven of 12 instructional goals in the 2008-09 school year. They are:
- Increased performance composites for third, fifth and eighth grades.
- Overall ABCs target growth.
- Percentage of schools meeting Adequate Yearly Performance (AYP).
- Percentage of students enrolled in Academically and/or Intellectually Gifted (AIG) programs.
- Increase in performance on the Vocational Education Competency Achievement Tracking System (VoCATS) test, an assessment of Career and Technical Education courses.
This report also outlines some of our challenges and ongoing strategies that will move us closer toward the high-performing school district we aim to be. I want to publicly recognize the commitment and professionalism of our teachers and principals. The example of "making a difference" is demonstrated in each classroom every school day.
I also want to recognize every staff member for the important role they play in educating our students. We are very proud of our progress, and we could not have done this without the astounding levels of support we receive from our parents, our business and community supporters and our communities of faith.
I encourage you to take a closer look at the State of the System Performance Report. Our team did a superb job in compiling and analyzing this data, then presenting it in an easy-to-read format. Please take a look at it, at www.dpsnc.net (look for Performance Report on the home page).
As I mentioned before, our highly skilled and dedicated team of teachers, principals Central Services administrators -- and of course, you, our parents and volunteers -- are more committed than ever to ensuring that the children who come through our doors will achieve the highest levels of academic success possible.
One of our successful efforts toward this end was being selected by the National Education Association to receive a planning grant that could lead to a five-year $1.25 million grant to close achievement gaps. The Durham Association of Educators (DAE) and Durham Public Schools are collaborating on the effort.
I invite you to attend the Board of Education's Kitchen Table Conversation on September 15 at W.G. Pearson Elementary School to provide input on this critical effort. The initial planning process included a close analysis of the achievement levels in DPS and led to the conclusion that if the gap is to be reduced, then efforts must be made to redefine the futures of African-American males. The academic improvement in this subgroup of students will improve academic achievement for our district.
We have and will continue to deal with the H1N1 flu, both among students and employees. We have a great partnership with the Durham County Health Department, and are working with school nurses and other health professionals to get important information out about this flu virus. We have produced a video for parents that is airing on Time Warner Cable Channel 4, and we have a Web site for parents to learn about prevention and protection. I invite you to help us as we do everything we can to limit the spread of this virus in our schools.
An interesting time is, no doubt, what we are facing in our community, our state and our nation. I want to take this opportunity to thank the Durham community for continued partnerships in support of our schools. Your e-mails, phone calls and ongoing feedback reassure me that we have a supportive citizenry, fully dedicated to the success of our students. You inspire me, and I deeply appreciate your support. Let's have a great year!
Carl Harris is superintendent of Durham Public Schools.
